Consumers are increasingly using kiosks to conduct business with enterprises. The kiosks come in a variety of sizes and are used for a variety of purposes. Some kiosks are drive through, such as fast food establishments, pharmacies, banks, and the like. Other kiosks are stationary located in gas stations, airlines, grocery stores, department stores, and the like.
In addition, what is considered a kiosk is evolving with today's technology. For example, digital signs now provide advertisements and mechanisms for users to interact with the displays to perform transactions. Such mechanisms include blue tooth communication, Near Field Communication (NFC), Quick Response (QR) code scanning, Wi-Fi communication, and the like.
Although a lot of automation has occurred with respect to consumer transactions, very little has occurred with respect to a retailer. That is, the focus in the industry has been on automating self-service consumer-based transactions and little focused has been on streamlining and automating the retailer's actions during a transaction.
For the most part, automation for retailers has focused on payment collection. For example, services such as PayPal® permit consumers to bypass traditional requirements (hardware and software) from credit card agencies and still accept credit card payment using the PayPal® system as an intermediary. This was a significant improvement for small retailers that could not afford the time or money associated with becoming an approved major credit card service provider because with PayPal® the retailer only needs an email address and bank account to accept all major credit cards from its consumers.
However, retention of consumer records, transaction details, inventory, and pricing information are still left to retailer-based systems. This means that retailers must purchase and maintain these systems as part of their ongoing business operations. Many of these retailer systems can be purchased off-the-shelf and initially configured for the retailer for use. Such systems still remain pricey for small retailers and still require a significant amount of in-house maintenance and support.
Moreover, nowadays many retailers like the ability to be mobile to attend special events, such as tradeshows, sporting events, and the like. The existing retailer-based systems are not meant to be portable and setup at remote sites can be time consuming and require network connectivity along with many power outlets for multiple devices that need powered at remote sites.